1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to optical connectors for bidirectional optical communication that optically connect between an optical fiber and light emitting and light receiving elements.
2. Description of Related Art
The conventional optical connector shown in non-patent literature 1 will be described below in terms of its assembling method. First, a light guide 1 is inserted into a receptacle body 2 in the direction of arrow A1, as shown in FIG. 10. On the other hand, a light emitting element 3 and a light receiving element 4 are held in an element holder 5 and, as shown in FIG. 11, the element holder 5 is placed in a shield cover 6. The shield cover 6 has blade springs 6h and 6i (FIG. 12), which push the placed element holder 5 in the direction of arrow A2 (upward direction in FIG. 11 or leftward direction in FIG. 12).
Non-patent literature 1: page 17 in “MOST informative”, MOST Cooperation, March 2008.
FIGS. 10, 11, 13, 15, and 16 are schematic diagrams illustrating conventional optical connectors, in which some parts are indicated simply. For example, unlike the actual shape shown in FIGS. 12 and 14, the blade springs 6h and 6i are indicated simply.
The receptacle body 2 slides in the direction opposite to that of arrow A2 with respect to the shield cover 6 as shown in FIG. 11 to mate with the shield cover 6 as shown in FIG. 13. During the sliding, projections 2d and 2e of the receptacle body 2 make contact with the light emitting element 3 and the light receiving element 4, respectively, and push the element holder 5 including the light emitting element 3 and the light receiving element 4 in the direction of arrow A3 (downward direction in FIG. 13 or rightward direction in FIG. 12). This pressing locates the light guide 1 in an appropriate position with respect to the light emitting element 3 and the light receiving element 4. FIG. 14 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional optical connector.